Memories of wartime service on night of raid

YOUR paper recently carried the announcement (The Yorkshire Post, July 4) that Harold Ankers, the last of an old Northallerton business family had died, aged 91.

Mention must be made of the public service Harold gave, especially during the last war, and this may be the last opportunity to pay tribute to all those who voluntarily manned the services.

On the evening when Northallerton was bombed the town was well served by these volunteers. The air raid wardens bravely remained on duty, reporting the death, injuries and property damage to the control centres, where more volunteers represented each service.

In charge, an ARP controller decided where the fire, first aid, damage control and other services should go, their representatives in the team using the warden’s reports to indicate what needed to be done.

Having sight in only one eye the wartime services used me in various ways, mainly in the RAF, but on the night when Northallerton was bombed I was the ARP controller, and Harold Ankers, only a schoolboy, was the team’s messenger, using his bicycle.

Am I the only one of that team, now Harold has gone, who still survives?